


Ready Or Not

by sparkyneedsadoctor



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Curious Archer bonding, F/F, Robin gay panics a little bit, Zelena teases Robin about her crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkyneedsadoctor/pseuds/sparkyneedsadoctor
Summary: Zelena finds out about Robin's crush on Alice and they (sort of) talk about it. Robin goes to see Alice at the cabin and they bond some more.
Relationships: Alice Jones | Tilly/Robin | Margot
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Ready Or Not

When Robin wakes up, the sun shining on her face and the sound of birds chirping coming through the window, it takes her a moment to figure out where she is. Blinking sleep out of her eyes, she takes in the dark green blanket, the desk with a picture of her and Emma back in Storybrooke, her bow and quiver hanging on the wall. The sound of footsteps hurrying back and forth makes its way into her consciousness as she fully wakes up. Only her mother has footfalls that sound as if there’s somewhere she has to be, which means…

She’s at Emerald Acres Farm.

After yawning and stretching, Robin makes her way into the kitchen to see her mother in the middle of making breakfast. There was a plate of chocolate chip pancakes (her favorite), another of bacon, and some freshly cut fruit. At the sight of the mouthwatering food, Robin’s stomach lets out an embarrassingly loud growl.

She feels her cheeks heat up as her mother smiles knowingly. The archer’s appetite is downright monstrous, a side effect of always being on the move and not always having time (or just straight up forgetting) to eat. The times when she’s at home long enough to have a full course meal is like feeding an army.

“Hungry, dear?”

Zelena’s voice is teasing, she knows her daughter is a big fan of food, especially chocolate chip pancakes. And she knows Robin hasn’t had them for a while.

“Just a little.” Robin answers. There’s no point trying to downplay it after what they both heard, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have a little fun.

Zelena just raises her eyebrows while Robin stares back innocently. After a moment of intense eye contact, the tantalizing smell of pancakes and bacon causes her poker face to crack and she snags a piece of bacon just as her stomach decides to make itself known once again.

Her mother laughs this time as she brings the rest of the food to the table. The banter between them has increased noticeably since they moved to the New Enchanted Forest. It’s nice. Her relationship with her mother has improved dramatically since the move, and while she somewhat likes and even misses Storybrooke, Robin will always be grateful to Archie for suggesting that getting out of town might benefit them.

“Any plans for today, monkey?” Zelena asks.

Robin tries not to grimace at her childhood nickname. It was cute when she was five, she’s not so sure about now. At least “Nobin” sounded slightly cooler, thought that probably had more to do with the person who came up with it rather than the actual nickname itself.

“I thought I might visit Alice later, after I finish my chores.”

She tries to sound as casual as possible, hoping she isn’t blushing. The last thing she needs is for her mother to start teasing her over her love life—or lack thereof.

“Alice, huh?” Zelena smiles knowingly. “You visit this friend of yours quite a bit.”

Robin, about to take a bite of pancake, pauses. Her mother’s smirk is a little too perceptive for her comfort. “Well, she—she’s my friend. It’d be rude not to.”

“She must be a special friend to warrant as many as four visits in one week. I must say, I’m a little intrigued.”

Robin fights to keep her expression neutral. She wouldn’t be surprised if her mother could hear her heart pounding. _Damn crush_ , she thinks. “Why is that?”

“I’ve just never seen you so interested in someone before.”

“Inter—interested?” Robin coughs, mouth suddenly dry.

Zelena tilts her head, studying her daughter’s rather intense reaction. “So you _do_ have a crush.”

“Mom!”

Robin wants to die. Of course her mother figured it out. Now she has to endure pointed looks and teasing quips for the rest of her life. She groans and lets her head fall onto the table. There’s no way she can ever invite Alice over now.

Zelena, for her part, can’t help chuckling. “Oh Robin…”

“What…” Robin moans without looking up.

Zelena smiles gently. She’s traumatized her daughter enough for the day.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t pry. If you do, I want it to be on your terms.”

Robin nods slowly. It’s a start. She offers her mother a small smile. Zelena grasps her hand for a moment before getting up and taking her dishes to the sink, Robin following suit. She chews on her lip, wondering if she should voice what she’s thinking. In the end, she decides that the result of doing so can’t be any worse than what just transpired.

“You know,” the archer begins. “If there’s anything you want to know about Alice…I’m not ready to talk about _that_ , but…” she trails off uncertainly.

“Okay,” her mother agrees, and they head out to the porch to sit and talk after Robin rinses off their dishes. “Nook’s kid?”

Robin laughs. “Yeah.”

Zelena nods. She’d had a sneaking suspicion when she’d first heard Alice’s name. “How did you two meet?”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story. I saw her for the first time outside of the resistance camp but I didn’t know who she was. All I knew was that she was blonde, really pretty, and watching Nook through the trees, so I took my bow and snuck up on her to find out who she was. I pointed an arrow at her and accused her of being a spy.”

“Subtle…” Zelena deadpans. Robin gives her a look.

“What was I supposed to think, she was watching us from the edge of camp _with a telescope_!”

“Point taken. Carry on.”

“Um, well, after I accused her of being a spy, she ran. Right after I told her not to. I was kind of impressed, after the annoyance passed. Anyway, I chased her through the woods towards one of my traps, and, well…”

Robin stops, suddenly hesitant. Her ears flame as she remembers exactly what she did. Her mom was going to tease her mercilessly about this. She closes her eyes briefly before opening them again to see Zelena watching her expectantly with a hint of amusement.

“What did you do?” Her mother sounds both resigned and as if she’s fighting a laugh. It’s almost offensive. Robin sighs ruefully.

“Idroppedacageonher.” She muttered.

“Sorry? I didn’t quite catch that.”

Robin grits her teeth. “I dropped a cage on her.”

For a moment there’s silence as Zelena processes what her daughter said. Then she’s laughing—properly laughing, not one of her derisive Wicked Witch cackles. Robin just crosses her arms and stares straight ahead at the path leading away from their farm with a scowl, though her face twitches with a smile. It really is rather funny when she stops and thinks about it. Once she gets past how embarrassing it is, of course.

“Are you done yet?” Robin asks pointedly when Zelena snorts after looking up to meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry, love, but I honestly don’t know what I expected. I should have known.”

Robin frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, just that unconventional meetings for the people we care about most run in the family. Snow told me once how she met her dear Prince Charming, and, well, let’s just say your affinity for setting traps isn’t entirely your father’s fault.”

Robin shakes her head uncomprehendingly.

“He used a net.” Zelena informs her offhandedly.

The archer’s eyes widen. Now her mother has even more ammo against her! This was a nightmare. Alice might get a kick out of it, at least. The blonde did love stories about Robin’s family back in Storybrooke. The brunette lets out a disbelieving laugh.

“Seriously? Emma’s dad used a _net_? You can cut your way out of one of those!”

Zelena just shrugged. “I’m only telling you what I was told. If it’s any consolation, Regina almost killed Robin Hood when they first met.”

For a moment Robin marvels at the fact that there were still things she didn’t know about her family despite growing up in as quaint a town as Storybrooke. It was starting to sound as if she were more normal than the rest of them. Then her mother’s words register in her brain.

“How is _that_ any consolation?!” she gasps with indignation.

Zelena grimaces. “Alright, that came out wrong. But that _is_ rather par for the course for families like ours.”

Robin huffs but eventually relaxes and uncrosses her arms. The sun is shining at a higher angle through the window and she’s itching to set out and see Alice. Her impatience must show on her face because her mother is smirking once again, and Robin has to fight to not let it get to her.

She makes a show of going inside and packing her bag with supplies so she doesn’t have to see Zelena’s face, and focuses on imagining Alice’s reaction to this latest story she has to share. A smile makes its way onto her face as she thinks about the blonde adventurer that has wormed her way into Robin’s life.

“I’m heading out now!” Robin announces, tossing her backpack across her shoulder.

“Have fun,” Zelena says casually. “Will you be home for dinner?”

Robin glances at the sky as she opens the front door. There are a few clouds, but they’re white and puffy. She can’t tell what it’s like in the distance due to the trees, but she knows pop-up storms are common in the summer, no matter how the day starts.

“Weather permitting.” She replies before shutting the door behind her.

Once she’s on the familiar path towards the cabin that Alice is pretty much squatting in, Robin feels a rush of excitement. She’s been visiting Alice for a couple of months now and she still gets butterflies in her stomach every time she goes. It seems cliché, given that in Storybrooke’s realm, lives like hers are considered fairytales and the love stories always started with the excitement of butterflies.

Maybe it was time to upgrade from _crush_ to _infatuated_. Robin grins, then shudders as she imagines having _that_ conversation with her mom. Perhaps the upgrade would stay in her head for now. Plus, she should really talk about this with Alice before telling her mother anything. Even the idea of telling the blonde about her feelings is only mildly better than talking about her feelings with her mother.

Reaching the cabin, Robin knocks on the door and waits for Alice, looking around at the little garden and watching various little critters running around.

“Nobin!” comes an excited voice, and she only has a split second to brace herself as Alice almost knocks her over in her haste to hug her friend. “I was wondering if you were coming today!”

“What have I told you about calling me that?” Robin tries to sound stern, but Alice’s cheeky grin has her smiling too, and she rolls her eyes fondly.

“You love it; I know you do.”

“No comment.”

They head inside, Robin setting her things down as Alice gets them some berries she collected from the wild bushes behind the cabin.

“I just had breakfast.” She tries to refuse, but the blonde just looks at her knowingly.

“And I bet you’re still hungry.”

Robin sticks out her tongue as the other girl laughs heartily, tongue poking out from in between her teeth. It makes her heart go crazy, and Robin wonders how such a small, barely noticeable action can drive her wild.

“Just for that, I’m not going to tell you the new story I heard today.” She smirks as Alice’s jaw drops. “And I came all the way out here…now what I am going to do?”

Alice dramatically clutches her heart as Robin shakes with laughter. “You wouldn’t!”

She tells herself to stay strong, but she can’t help but look into Alice’s puppy dog eyes, and the jig is up.

“Alright,” she sighs theatrically. “I suppose not. But you’re not off the hook yet.” She stealthily hides her right arm behind her back.

Alice pouts adorably. “When am I off the hook, then?”

Robin makes a show of shrugging offhandedly before bringing her arm up and chucking a raspberry at the blonde’s face. It hits her forehead and bounces off harmlessly, rolling across the uneven floorboards. Alice blinks and shakes her head, reaching up to touch the spot where it hit her before looking back at Robin with astonishment.

“ _Now_ you are.” Robin grins.

“And to think I picked those just for you.”

“You made fun of my appetite.”

Alice just shrugs. “Or I just know you.”

Robin hums, trying not be distracted by the way Alice’s hair is falling down her shoulders, or the way her blue eyes are sparkling with mischief. “I don’t exactly hide it.”

“Why would you? I think it’s cute.”

Robin nearly chokes on a raspberry, spluttering as she tries to catch her breath. Somehow, she’s able to swallow without killing herself. She coughs, managing to rasp out something about needing water, which Alice immediately gets for her.

“You alright?” The blonde asks with concern.

“I’m good.” Robin assures her, now breathing normally. “Took me by surprise, that’s all.”

Alice nods, looking regretful.

“‘m sorry…” she mutters, playing with her hands anxiously. Robin waves her off.

“You’re fine, don’t worry. Honestly, something like that would have happened sooner or later.”

Alice tilts her head, looking confused. “Why’s that?”

_Oh crap_. Robin internally panics, feeling like it’s too soon to bring up her feelings. It’s only been a few months since they met, and while relationships tended to move fast in fairytale realms, Robin wants to takes things slow. Which meant taking more time to be friends and getting to know each other. She tries to think of something to say that isn’t a lie, but isn’t the entire truth either.

“I, uh, sometimes do stupid things in front of people that…that, uh, mean a lot to me.”

She prays that Alice accepts the explanation. The adventurer is the first friend she’s had in a long time that she doesn’t want to risk losing. She doesn’t want to get attached only for it to be all for nothing.

Alice, for her part, is staring at her oddly but somewhat charmingly. It makes her heart skip a beat. _Great,_ Robin thinks. _The last thing I need is to go into cardiac arrest because of the way a pretty girl looks at me_. _Especially when it could just be her being friendly_.

“I mean a lot to you?” Alice asks shyly, biting her lip.

Robin shakes herself out of her thoughts, smiling softly and a little embarrassedly. “Yeah, you do.” Her face feels hot and she hopes Alice doesn’t comment on it.

Thankfully, she doesn’t.

“You mean a lot to me too.” She tells Robin sincerely.

Robin’s smile widens. “Well, then it’s a good thing we’re friends. You want to hear that story now?”

“Oooh, yes!”

“Okay, so, you remember how we met?”

“Kinda hard to forget.” Alice replies shamelessly, enjoying the opportunity to get under Robin’s skin.

“Alright, well get this…”

She tells Alice everything Zelena told her about Snow and Charming’s first meeting and how he trapped her in a net after she stole his jewels. Alice raises her eyebrows impishly when Robin gets to the part with the net, and she braces herself for the teasing. Her smirk has that roguish charm that comes from being the daughter of a pirate and time spent traveling the realms.

“A net, huh?” The blonde says when Robin finishes.

“Mmhmm.”

“A net, a cage…you gonna get married in prison, then?”

Robin gapes. “Get married in…seriously?!” She gasps.

Alice giggles at the way her ears flame. Robin would have at least tried to appear somewhat insulted if it weren’t for the way Alice’s beautiful laugh made her want to melt on the spot. And the fact that her lifestyle was very likely to land her in prison, as it already had.

“I’ll have you know that I’m not the type to get married in prison. I’m not even dating anyone.”

“Are you the type to get married?”

Robin pauses, unsure if she should answer for a moment. She decides to take a risk. “I don’t know. Maybe, one day.”

Alice looks thoughtful at her response. “Me too.”

They don’t say anything for a bit, too busy thinking about what the other said. It’s a comfortable silence, making Robin’s nerves dissipate. Knowing that she and Alice seem to be of the same mindset is reassuring, and she thinks that maybe coming clean about her feelings won’t be as hard as she thought it would be.

It still won’t be anytime soon though. There’s a lot going on between the resistance camp and the looming threat of Drizella.

“Robin?”

“Yeah, Tower Girl?”

Alice’s lips twitch upwards at the nickname. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Robin says, sitting up a little straighter. It must be important if the shift in her tone is anything to go by.

“I know you sometimes see my Papa when you visit the resistance camp. I was wondering…since I can’t see him, would you mind passing on some letters I’ve written him?”

Alice looks away, wiping her eyes, and Robin feels her throat tighten. Unconsciously her hand snakes out and finds Alice’s, rubbing soft circles in a comforting gesture.

“‘Course I will.” She whispers.

Alice gives her a watery smile and leans closer to the archer, who quickly wraps an arm around her.

“Thanks…” she mumbles. “It’s not the same, but if I can’t see him, this is the next best thing.”

“I can’t begin to imagine what this must be like,” Robin tells her softly, “but know that I’m here, and that you can talk to me. Or not talk, if that’s what you prefer. You’re not alone, Alice.”

Alice doesn’t say anything, but she squeezes Robin tighter. “’m glad you’re my friend.” She murmurs into Robin’s neck.

“I’m glad you’re my friend too.” The archer whispers back.

They stay that way for a little while longer, and when Alice pulls back, Robin stands up, holding her outstretched hand towards Alice. The blonde glances at it, then at Robin, before slowly taking her hand.

“Let’s get some fresh air. I wanna show you something.”

Grabbing her bow and quiver in case there’s trouble, she leads Alice through the woods to a place she’s never shown anyone, not even her mother. Not many people cared about the outdoors the way she did, and the way she’s come to find out that Alice does as well. She hopes her plan to cheer up the blonde succeeds.

It’s a bit of a hike, but eventually they make it. Robin can see the slight confusion on Alice’s face as she looks around expectantly.

“So what am I lookin’ for, exactly?” Alice asks.

“A tree.” Robin supplies, knowing it isn’t the most helpful suggestion in the world. She wants to have a little fun first.

Alice snorts. “Shouldn’t be too hard then. Not like we’re surrounded by trees.”

Robin chuckles. “Specifically, the oldest tree in this forest. Think you can find it?”

Alice shrugs, a look of concentration already on her face. “I’ve run through a fair amount of forests on my travels, but I’d say you’re the expert here.”

Still, she wanders the vicinity, occasionally sidling up to a tree before shaking her head and walking away. Sometimes she even puts her ear up against the trunk, as if she’s following some invisible voice. Soon she’s drawn to the biggest, tallest tree in the area.

Robin grins as the adventurer runs up to it excitedly. “You found it!”

Alice grins, touching the tree gently. Robin beams at her elation.

“How’d you find him?” The blonde asks eagerly.

“Not totally sure. I was just exploring one day and the closer I got to this particular tree, the more I felt…something. Like it wanted me to climb it and hang out for a while.”

She knows Alice won’t laugh at her for that. She doesn’t tell her that she’s pretty sure the tree is magical, and that she thinks it called out to the last dredges of magic inside her. Knowing that Alice’s mother is Gothel makes her hesitant to bring it up, even though she’s pretty sure Alice has magic too. But everything that happened with Gothel is a story for another day. 

“Thanks for bringing me here.” Alice says softly.

Robin smiles. “Anytime, Tower Girl.”

They spend the afternoon there until Robin regretfully informs the blonde that they should probably head back so that she can grab the letters to Killian and make her way home. They make it back just before sunset, Alice holding her hand most of the way back.

“I’ll come back soon, okay?” Robin promises as she hugs the blonde.

“I’m countin’ on it.” Alice replies.

With a wave goodbye, Robin sets off for the farm. It’s past dinnertime by the time she shows up, and Zelena looks at her meaningfully when she opens the front door.

“Don’t,” She warns before her mother can say anything. “We went for a hike, lost track of time.”

Zelena holds up her hands innocently. “Did you have fun?”

“Of course. She gave me some letters to give to her father.”

Her mother smiles sympathetically. “I guess that means you’ll be leaving again soon.”

“Yeah,” Robin says quietly. “I’ll be careful.”

“I know you will, monkey. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop worrying about you.”

They spend the rest of the evening together before heading up to bed. And if Robin ends up dreaming about climbing trees with Alice? Well, that’s her business.


End file.
